Shuttle for weet replenishing looms



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SHUTTLE AFOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS FiledDeC. 16, 1940 NVENTOR. RxCH A RD El. TURNR ATTORN EY Patented pr. 7, 1942 SHUTTLE FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Richard G. Turner, Worcester, Mass., assigner to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application December 16, 1940, Serial No. 370,385

3 Claims. 139-207) This invention relates to shuttles for weft replenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention to shorten the bobbin supporting end of the shuttle by utilizing the shank of the shuttle tip to hold the bobbin cooperating parts, such as the spring jaws and bobbin guide.

In the usual weft replenishing shuttle the spring jaws which hold the rings of the bobbins and the guide which directs the bobbin head toward the jaws are mounted independently o f the shuttle point shank and this construction necessitates a long shuttle to accommodate both the shank of the tip and also the supporting means for the bobbin guide and spring jaws. It is an important object of my present invention to extend the shuttle tip shank through a part of the spring jaws to be anchored into a nut or the like which holds the jaws in position.

It is another object of my present invention to surround the shank of the shuttle tip with a metallic bushing which is held against rotation in the body of the shuttle and against which the spring jaws are held for the purpose of establishing a metallic contact between the shuttle tip and the jaws without relying upon the wooden body of the shuttle to hold the several metal parts in accurate longitudinal adjustment. e

It is another object of my present invention to use the threaded shank with the shuttletip l to hold in position not only the spring jaws but also the bobbin guide which serves to direct the head of the bobbin toward the center of the shuttle should the latter be misplaced at the vtime of a replenishing operation of the loom.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein two forms of my invention are set forth,

Fig. l is a plan view of a shuttle made according to the preferred form of my present invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. l with the bobbin omitted,

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 on a reduced scale,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the bobbin guide of the preferred form,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the nut which receives the threads on the shank of the shuttle tip,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the bushing which surrounds the shank of the shuttle tip, and

Fig. 7 is a view similar to a part of Fig. 2 showing the modified form of bobbin guide.

Referring to the drawing, the shuttle S may in many respects be made according to established practice and may be formed of wood. The right end of the shuttle is provided with a thread delivery eye designated generally at E and the central part of the shuttle will have a weft compartment C to receive a bobbin B the head of which is provided with rings R. The front wall of the shuttle may be provided with the customairy weft detector slot I0 while the right end of the shuttle will be provided with a metallic tip II of usual form. Shuttles of the general form shown in Fig. l are customarily employed in weft replenishing looms which have provision for replacing a depleted bobbin with a fresh bobbin.

The matter thus far described is well understood and of itself forms no part of my present invention.

In carrying my invention into eifect I provide the left or bobbin supporting end I2 of the shuttle with a metallic sleeve or bushingr I3 the outer cylindrical surface of which is iluted as shown at I4 in Fig. 6. The outer end of the bushing is provided with a truncated conical head I5 having a face I6 to abut an adjacent face I'I formed on the body of the shuttle. The iiuted periphery of the shank prevents the bushing from rotating within the shuttle and this condition is desirable since in the finishing of the shuttle the tapering of the flat front and back outer surjfaces as well as the top and bottom downto the conical end is likely to extend to the left of the surface I6, resulting in the formation of facets such as shown at I8 in Fig. 6. The bushing is driven into the shuttle prior to the finishing of the end of the shuttle and the knurled area I4 serves to hold the bushing against r0- tanon in the shuttle subsequent to the finishing operation to which the shank of the shuttle is subjected.`

The bobbin holding or spring jaw member I9 is in the present instance formed of a single piece of spring steel bent to the U-shaped form shown in horizontal section in Fig. 3. The jaws 20. and 2l are integral with a cross bridge 22 which fits into the left end of the bobbin compartment C and abuts the right end 25 of the bushing shank I3. It may also have contact with the vertical wall 26 of the wooden part of the shuttle which defines the left end of the bobbin compartment, but the bridge 22 will have direct and close conftact with the end of the shank I3 whether or not it contacts the wall 2G. The bridge 22 is provided with a bore 21 for a purpose to be described.

The preferred form of bobbin guide member 30 comprises a single piece of sheet metal having an upper horizontal arm 3| lying over and in contact with bridge 22. The member 30 has an inclined part 32 which is bent downwardly and toward the longitudinal center of the shuttle to direct the head of the shuttle in such a direction that the rings R can enter grooves 33 in the jaws 20 and 2i. The guide then extends downwardly as at 34 and is bent horizontally as at 35 to extend along the floor 36 of the bobbin compartment. The left end of the bobbin guide is nally bent upwardly as at 31 and lies along the right surface of the bridge 22. The vertical wall 31 is provided with an aperture 38 which I registers with the opening 21 in the bridge 22.

Extending inwardly from the left end of the shuttle as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3 is the shank 40 of a shuttle tip member 4l. The shank and tip are formed of metal and the base 42 of the conical point 39 abuts an adjacent vertical end Wall 43 of the head l5 of the bushing. The shank 40 has a close nt with the bore 45 extending axially through the bushing and the inner or right end of the shank as viewed in Fig. 2 extends through the aligned apertures 21 and 38 into the weft compartment and has a threaded end 46 fitted into a nut 5B. The bottom surface l of the nut lies in close contact with the upper surface of the horizontal section 35 of the bobbin guide and also extends horizontally to opposite sides of a vertical line passing downwardly through the axis of the shank 40. The nut is thus held against rotation with respect to the bobbin guide. I may if desired form the vertical edges of the nut with ribs 52 which embrace the vertical edges of the upright section 31 of the bobbin guide as indicated in Fig. 3 to prevent relative turning of the guide and nut.

In order that the tip and its shank may be turned with respect to the shuttle a small hole 60 extends through the conical point 39 for the reception of a pin not shown by means of which the shank may be turned and threaded into the nut 50 to draw the bridge 22 tightly against the right end of the bushing I3 and also maintain close engagement between the nut and the section 31 of the guide and also between the latter and the bridge 22. This single thread is therefore seen to hold the tip, the bushing, the spring jaws and the bobbin guide in fixed position by reason of its threaded engagement with the nut. F

The floor 36 engages the section 35 of the guide and also the lower edges of the jaws and 2| and bridge 22, to prevent rotation of these parts with respect to the shuttle.

In the preferred form of the invention the upper horizontal bobbin guide section 3l rests on the bridge 22, but I may if desired form the bobbin guide of a modified form such as shown in Fig. 7. In this modified form the parts previously described will be used with the exception form of the invention is similar to the preferred form.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a shuttle wherein the bobbin holding jaws, the bobbin guide, and the shuttle tip are all held together by a single thread on the shank of the tip member. It will also be seen that the bushing I3 takes the pressure which the threads of the shank exert to the left as viewed in Fig. 2 when the shank is screwed tightly into the nut, thereby relieving the wooden part of the shuttle of Such strains as might tend to split it. It will further be seen, particularly by an inspection of Fig. l, that the construction provided herein materially shortens the distance between the bobbin head and the adjacent end of the shuttle, thereby making possible a corresponding reduction in the length of the lay of the loom in which the shuttle is used. Furthermore, the top horizontal section 3| of the bobbin guide may either rest on the top of the bridge 22 to be supported by the latter should the ,inclined section 32 be called upon to move the incoming bobbin toward the center of the loom during a replenishing operation, or, as in the modified form, the bobbin guide may be made to absorb its own strains and relieve the jaws of subjection to downwardly directed forces incident to transfer'.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a shuttle having an end projecting beyond a weft compartment therein, a bushing extending through said one end of the shuttle to the weft compartment, bobbin holding jaws lo cated within the weft compartment comprising two arms extending longitudinally of the shut tle connected together by a cross bridge which abuts that end of the bushing nearest the longi tudinal center of the shuttle, a bobbin guide having a section inclined downwardly and toward the longitudinal center of the loom and having also a vertical portion extending along the bridge, a conical tip for said end of the shuttle projecting beyond the bushing and having a shank extending through the bushing and also through 'the bridge and last named vertical portion of said bobbin guide, and a nut threaded on to the end of the shank, the nut and threaded end of the shank holding the tip against one end of the bushing and holding the bridge against the other end of the bushing and serving also to hold said last named vertical portion of the bobbin guide against the bridge.

2. In a shuttle having an end projecting beyond a weft compartment therein, a bushing extending through said encl of the shuttle to the compartment, a bobbin guide having a portion inclined downwardly and toward the longitudinal center of the shuttle and having another portion extending vertically, a tip for the shuttle extending beyond the outer end of the bushing and having a shank extending through the bushing and into the compartment, and means including a nut threaded on to the end of the shank which projects into the compartment to hold the bobbin guide in xed position with respect to the bushing.

3. In a shuttle having an end projecting beyond a weft compartment therein, a hollow bushing extending through said end of the shuttending beyond the end of the bushing remote from the compartment and extending through the bushing into the compartment, and single threaded means including threads on the shank for holding the members in xed longitudinal position with respect to the bushing RICHARD G. TURNER. 

